Left 4 Dead 3: Bloody Suburbia
by FrAz316
Summary: The survivors try and make thier way to New Manchester to get an evac, but not without heartache on the way.
1. The Streets

Left 4 Dead 3 – Bloody Suburbia: 1 – The Suburbs

_James and Tommy, holding their wits close against their chests, walked through the silent streets it was eerie, a sense of fear still hung freshly in the air. They had stayed in the shadows, terrified by what was lurking around every corner, hpoing that it was just an empty houses look stone dead, bar a couple that had silhouettes in the wondows that they daren't look into to deeply._

_Tommy was confused at what had just happened when he and James had left the appartment. It felt like a dream, only that the fear was so dominant. James didn't talk much, probably bacause he was scared. Even then though, he was quiet. Way too quiet in such a situation._

"_You ok?" Tommy asked,  
"What?" James replied a little stunned.  
"Are you alright?" Tommy asked again,  
"Yea, I'm ok. Are you?" James asked in return_

_Tommy thought about this, he wasn't really. It was better to lie and be positive however._

"_Same, I'm ok I guess"  
"Good"_

_The pair reached the end of the alleyway, the only exit was out on the main street. They were cautious when they creeped out onot the street._

_The street was a scene only depicted in horror movies. Bodes lay sprawled on the ground, limbs missing. Blood covered the walls like fresh coasts of paint, left unfinished by the painter. It wasn't pretty, and it was about to get a lot worse._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy saw a few bodies on the ground wriggle. He instantly snapped his Shotgun on to the pile. James did the same, slightly slowly slower but still with the same focus. Four or five bodies sat up, puppet like in their movements. One grolwed and spat up fluids onto the ground. Tommy almost threw up aswell. The bodies turned around, as thought they were assesing their surroundings. They then snapped on to James and Tommy, as though they had caught their scent. They scrambled up to therin feet and, both unexpected to James and Tommy, let out a blood curdling scream that made James fall back in horror. The bodies caught locked on to the movement. Then they ran._

_Tommy was quick to react; he fired a shotgun shell into the first attacker who stumpled back. James had pulled out his pistols while he was on the ground and fired two rounds into the seconds face, kiling it instantly. More bodies were converging on the sounds of gunfire. Soon James and Tommy were being pushed back through the alleyway._

"_We have to do something!" Tommy shouted over the noise.  
"I know what to do, follow me" Replied James, who has gotten to his feet._

_Quickly, James kicked the front zombie in the chest; it stumbled back and knocked the rest of the pack over._

"_Run, quickly!" James called. Then he was leaping over the stunned caracces._

_Tommy followed; he was amazeda t the agility of the middle aged man. The bodies were recovering as they leapt over them. The pair turned around to fire shots occasionally as they ran across the street, their pursuing attackers never waning. More had join the hunt, screaming in an inhuman roar. It couldn't have been real, but it was._

_Tommy and James didn't dare go down the side streets, it was too dangerous. They had to stay out in the open, tryng to gun down as many of these things as possible. The buildings around them lay cold and dead, except one at the top of the street. It had a safe glow pulsating from it._

"_That building up ahead, it's a checkpoint" James said.  
"A what?" replied Tommy, wondering what that was?_

_Military Checkpoints were the last safe haven for survivors. Two hours after the infection hit, the US Army set up these checkpoints to hold non infected people. They were held there until they could be transferred to a safer location._

_It was becoming harder to stay running. James hadnt run like this in years and it hurt every step he took, but he had to be strong. Tommy was right behind him, firing shotgun rounds into anything that moved. They were relentless, as thought they were starved. Thestreet seemed to turn into a sort of funnel, cordened off by tankers, trucks and army cars. Tommy realised the tactic. They were funneling them into the smalles area ten gunning them down. The Machine Guns on the top of the trucks made that clear. _

_As thought they were being expected, the guns started as soon as they had got inside the bottle neck shaped area. The screams were blanked out by the heavy gunfire. The creatures behind them dropped as the bullets hit them, body parts flying. The blood spurted over the army veicles, covering them in a thick red coat. The pair reached the door of the office building, they were safe…. For now!_


	2. The Offices

The office door opened and they were hastily ushered inside by a soldier, who looked very exhausted. He showed them to a room containing several men, one wearing a berret with a General's logo on it.  
" Ah, you are newcomers then are you?" the man with the berret said, smiling.  
"Yes" said James " this is Tommy and my name is James"  
" I'm General Francis Bellamy, 14th Batallion. Nice to meet you. If you'd come this way, I'll show you around.

The General led the pair through the office block. He explained that he had controlled four floors of the office with his men, clearing the zombies, or "infected" as he called them, from the site. The General seemed nice, as though this infection was just a simple training mission. They then explored the living quarters. Each person had atleast a bed, made of couch parts and sheets of shin cotton for covers, it was cramped but strangely welcoming. People were very happy to see newcomers the General explained, it gave them hope. He showed the pair to two beds on the third floor.

" This is where you will be staying gentlemen" he beamed.  
" Thanks Sir, but we are only passing through, although a meal and some ammo would be appreciated." Tommy replied.  
" Ah, well that's a shame, can I ask where you are heading exactelly" the general asked, genuinely interested.  
" The train to the North sir. " James answered " we are going to New Manchester to see if there is a way out of America. "  
" Hmm..." the general's face full of thought " I think I can help you with that"  
"How?" James asked.  
" Follow me" the General said, still in thought. " I'll explain on the way. "

The general led them down to the army barracks on the first floor. His deal was this. A group of about four Army Rangers were leaving the Checkpoint to search for anymore human survivors, and would be heading all the way up to New Manchester to rendevous with the Rangers based there, traveling through some places called " saferooms " to stop and stay The General's deal was that they provided extra fire support, they could tag along.

The army barracks were slightly more spacious, mostly filled with the Ranger's favourite guns and pictures of family long lost in the wave of infection. As the General walked in to the barracks, the soldiers stood at attention, and were dismissed almost instantly.

" These two gentlemen" he pointed at James and Tommy " will acompany the convoy of soldiers through to Chalk Company Alpha. Let them choose weapons before yourselves and make them feel welcome. " he spoke. If the General was anything, he was very to the point.  
" Ill just let you get settled in, you are leaving at 1500 hours, or in 4 hours if you prefer. " he said, then walked out the room.

As soon as he left, four soldiers came up to the pair and started talking to them.

" So you're the two who are tagging along, well nice to meet you" one of them said " I'm Sergent Greg Clark, this is Corpral Alex Buffer, Staff Sergent Kevin Chelsea and our CO, Leuitenant Scott Griffen. "

They all said their welcomes, Lt. Griffen being very pleased that more company on their journey. There was a large contrast between the four. Clark was tall with very red hair, clearly the public relations one, Buffer was quiet, small and and built a tank, Chelsea was the intelligent one, also quite tall but not as strong looking as the others and Griffen was simply medium height, black haired and jolly. Griffen led them through to the armory, and told them to pick their weapons. They were permitted to take one primary weapon, a shotgun, a submachine gun or two pistols, four grenades and combat knife. After much consultation, James took an M16A4 Assult Rifle, two Heckler and Koch Mark 23 pistols, four M67 frag grenades and an Army US Ranger Combat Knife. Tommy went with a M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, a Heckler and Koch MP5, M67 grenades and the same knife. The Rangers took M16A4 Assult rifels and shotguns. They seemed more at home, cheery and positive about the mission, Tommy and James on the other hand were losing their wits every second with dread.

After the squad had chose weapons, they sat down and had a meal. The food was canned, but very tasty. Probobly because of the lack that the pair had had since they left the appartments a day ago. It felt so distant to them, like a dream that they could only half remember. The only thing that stuck in their heads was the fear, that would be cemented their for ever.

Near the end of the meal, Lt. Griffen pulled us over to the side.

" I just want to say, thanks" he whispered, barely audiable over the racket of the mess hall.  
" For what? " James asked.  
" Giving us the extra fire support, we really appreciate it. "  
" Em ... No problem " James replied, very confused as to why he was so gratefully.  
" Remember, meet on the 4th floor in twenty minutes, ok?" he exclaimed, waved then went away to the barracks.

2:57, game time. Tommy and James made their way up to the 4 the floor. A large atmosphere of dread had washed over them. As they got to the exit door, they were met by the General and thier fellow squad members, all looking very uneasy.

" Well gentlemen, this is where we say our goodbyes" he spoke, a certain amount of respect in his voice " it has been a pleasure meeting you. "

We shook hands and he continued on.

" Good luck, and remember, save civilians and kill infected. " he ordered and opened the door. " God's speed gentlemen."

The office block was no different from the street, awash with blood. Bodies lay in piles or in corners. The troop passes slowly with caution, not daring to take chances. They had to check rooms for survivors. The whole 5th floor was empty, "no contact" as Griffen said. The sixth floor was different, much, much more different.

The instant we got up the stairs, Buffer who was taking point, shouted out clearly.

"Contact, several hostiles approaching"

Gunfire started, the rangers knew what they were doing. Thier Assult Rifle bullets tore through the infected like they were paper. Tommy and James followed suit, firing over the shoulders of Griffen and Buffer.

" Move, run for the next floor, double time" ordered Griffen.

The troop rushed along the corridor, firing infront of themselves. Infected had started pouring out the side rooms and were massing in waves. The stairwell was no better, large chunks had been taken out of it. Probobly out of disrepair and the actions of zombies. Griffen jumped first, followed by Tommy and James, then Buffer and Clark.

Last was Chelsea, he jumped but, out of nowhere, was lunged at by an infected from behind. He grabbed onto the broken stairwell, trying to claw his way up. Buffer and Griffen went to grab him, but he was clawed back into the hored of zombies. The room went silent, as Chelsea's gunfire faded into the screams of pain.

" NO! Chelsea! " screamed Griffen.  
" We can't do anything, we have to go, NOW! " said Buffer, still in shock.

Buffer pulled Griffen up and they left. James had one last glance at the pile before following on. He didn't know Chelsea untill today, but he couldn't explain the sadness that he felt for his death, but it couldn't be in vain.

The 7th floor was just as bad, zombies locked on to the gunfire and swarmed. Staying closer together. The troop advanced. The surroundings were begining to look more and more deformed. Griffen took point, cursing every zombie that he shot. As they got to the stairwell, Griffen made sure that the rest of the troop were all up before he climbed, providing covering fire for them. They had most made it up the stairs when a silence suddenly came over the building. Like a frost, it covered the 8th floor, nothing was attacking. It was too good to be true.

" Buffer, run to the stairwell to check if it is safe to advance, we'll cover you from here. " ordered Griffen.

Buffer jogged to the staircase and looked up through the sight of his gun. He seemed content spoke calmly.

" All clear, sir"

Griffen nodded and advanced, followed by James and Clark. Tommy took one step and fell, the noise was so small, yet the outcome was a chain of misfortune. The second the crack was heard, infected swarmed from all rooms onto Tommy. Griffen, Clark and James pivoted and fired instinctively, killing four zombies quickly. Tommy had gotten up, but as soon as he was on his feet he was knocked down by a zombie. The three covering him were submerged in a fight with about twenty infected. Tommy thought this was it, game over with no continues came to his head. Only when he looked up did he have a breif second of relief. The infected attacking was slumped over him, dead. Looking up, he saw Buffer standing with his gun raised smiling.

Tommy didn't have enough time to shout thanks. Before he could ever open his mouth, Buffer was crashing throuh the window. He tried to grab on to the pane. Even with Griffen trying to grab his hands through the crowd of zombies, Buffer's fingers lost grip and he fell. The only noise that Tommy could hear was the crack as Buffer's body hit the concrete below. Tommy didn't even notice Clark pull him up and shout in his ear.

" Come on! Run, very fast to the Safe Room! "  
" Whaaa...?" was all that Tommy could mannage.  
" GO! " Clark shouted, pushing him along the corridor.

Griffen had one glance at the window before he turned to run up the stairs. The shock was deafening. He couldn't feel himself moving. As the four survivors got to the stairs, Clark, James and Tommy, who was shaking violently, ran into the red doored room. Griffen stopped and stared at the zombies running at him and murmered to himself.

" Ill get them back, don't you worry Buffer. "

His words echoed under the screams as he shut he door and faced his team. It wasn't over yet, they still had the roofs to contend with.


	3. The Rooftops

Left 4 Dead 3 - Bloody Suburbia: 3 - The Rooftops (COMPLETED)

The remaining four survivors stayed in the safe room until first light. Griffen explained that they were going to travel across the roofs, climb down the fire escape ladder at the last building and stay in a train line hut converted into a safe room.

Griffen wasn't as cheerful, nobody blamed him. The death of two of his comrades in the space of half an hour had taken it's toll.

" Griffen... Were sorry about Buffer and Chelsea. We can't let thier deaths be in vain though " soothed Clark, trying to calm him down.  
"Forget it, we fight over the roof tops. Let's go" he replied steely.

The roofs were somewhat more open, less confined. Bodies still covered the ground, burnt in an attempt to stave off the infected by helpless civilians. The smell of burnt flesh and decay filled the squads nostrills.

Down bellow, they could see carcuses and rubble. A few moving figures stalked the streets. It was obvious they were infected. Griffen fired a few rounds at some zombies, little effort. As they got to the end of the roof, several gangplanks connected the buildings to one another. The troop made sure that they were crossing carefully, one missfooting and it was goodbye. A larger group of zombies noticed them and ran. They were quickly disposed, but had given the chance for more to find the troop. Not wanting to have a senario like the offices, Griffen ordered them to run quickly over the rooftops to save time. Screams behind them spurred them on more. James fired several shots behind him with his M16A4. zombies began to climb the sides of the blocks. They came at all angles and surprised the four with ambushes. Clark suggested he took the back, to keep James and Tommy safe. The only problem was that they didn't expect stronger zombies.

Clark stopped, they were three buildings away from the safe house and it looked clear from the front. He heard a noise though, faint roar. He passed this off as just more infected and continued on. Something In his guts however told him it was much more deadly. He heard a louder roar, and a faint shake of the ground. He stopped and called on Griffen.

" You hear that?"  
" What? The roaring " Griffen replied, still focused on the rooftops ahead.  
" Yea, what is it?" Clark asked, slightly worried.  
" I don't... Oh my god!" Griffen screamed, not able to finish the first sentence.

The roaring had gotten louder and the ground beneath their feet was shaking vioently. Then from the side of the building, a beheamoth sized figure scrambled up. It's arms were grotesquely oversized, vains oozing. It's legs were contrasted, small and flimsy. It roared like a lion, but had the movement of an ape. The group didn't stay around to find out more however, they were running.

Griffen, Clark, Tommy and James fires at the beast. It took all of the bullets with ease, charging at them. They kept running however, they didn't want to take a chance. Only one building to go, it seemed faster that the offices, then again they weren't being chased by a large charging creature in the offices. Finaly the ladder, it was bright red with blood or paint, they couldn't tell. Tommy went first, then James. Griffen stayed to fire at the beast before climbing. It was getting close when Clark decided to start climbing. As he turned around, he didn't realise how close it was. The next thing he felt was the cold ground on his face, and the smell of blood.

"CLARK!" shouted Griffen as he saw him punched.

Tommy was already at his side, pulling him to the corner of the street. The safehouse was just around the corner.

"Go, get to the safehouse, I'll kill it for you!" murmered Clark, slowly loosing concience.  
" NO! I'm not leaving you!" shouted Griffen, shocked at his words.  
" I won't help, run complete the mission, get these two to New Manchester. " Clark replied.

Griffen looked torn, save his friend and die or save two more and have his friend die. He looked up, fired at the beast, who had by this time clambered down the side of the building, then ordered Tommy and James to run, and then did so so himself. They reached the safe room and closed the door, Griffen broke down into tears.

Clark put his M16A4 on his lap and fired at the beast. He was loosing his vision, everything was becoming hazy. He managed to speak his last words.

"For Chelsea and Buffer. "

Then he pulled a grenade out of his pocket and pulled the pin. After six seconds the beast was caught in his fire, and Clark faded away into the calm abyss of darkness.

Griffen, Tommy and James jumped when the heard the explosion. They saw the large figure stumble over and fall, it's death roar subsided almost instantly but still hung in the air. It was over, for now.


	4. The Train Tunnel

Left 4 Dead 3 - Bloody Suburbia: 4 - The Train Line (COMPLETED)

Nobody spoke for over an hour, their was nothing to say. Clark had given his life so that they could continue on. Bravery was always commended. After a while Griffen explained the plan. They were going to go through the crashed trains to the station, then cut through to another line which would take them to the New Manchester Community Centre, and hopefully to an evac.

They stocked up on ammo and left, closing the door. The train line was enclosed in trees, making the atmosphere tense up considerably. Upon entering the first train, Griffen suggested that he covered the rear while Tommy and James searched the train for survivors. Griffen, with an M42 SAW heavy machine gun, mounted it on the ground and lay down. Tommy and James saw dead bodies, but no survivors. After searching the cabin, Tommy gave the all clear and Griffen advanced. The second and third cabins were the same. No one seemed to have survived. Only an the forth cabin did they find an unexpected pleasure, a couple.

They were two bankers from New York names Brenda and Shawn. They had taken the train when the infection hit and had stayed there ever since. Brenda was seriously injured and Shawn was very pale. They could walk, however and accompanied the remaining troop members to the end of the train.

The woods came right beside the train as they left at the end door. The second train was about half a mile ahead, meaning that they would have to cover the Injured couple all the way. Standing in a triangle, they walked swiftly towards the train. They only stopped when Shawn coughed up blood several times. This worried Tommy, he seemed more than just suffering from a cold.

Griffen mounted his machine gun again and let Tommy and James lead the couple to the end of the cabin. Giving the all clear again, the group pushed on. It was still to quiet. James was waiting for a snap or smash to awaken the sleeping masses of infected, his guard was always up now. The station was near, the end of the train signaled that. Griffen ushered out Brenda and Shawn with the rest of them following.

The station, from the outside, seemed perfect. It was as though it was just opening for a normal day's service. Everyone, as they left the train, knew that is hadn't been a normal day.

Inside, however, it was far from normal. Insides and limbs lay scattered around like toys in a nursery whatever colour of paint the Walls were wasn't noticable, only red stains plastered across them. Shawn was hobbling now, more pale. When they got to the scanning door, he fell against the wall and slumped against it.

" Whats wrong, hunnie?" Brenda asked worried.  
" I'm changing, Brenda, you have to get out of here. Go with the men, they will take you to a safety. " he weezed, trying to stay calm.  
" I can leave you here! " she exclaimed.  
" You must" he coughed. He then turned to Griffen. " Take her to the evac zone. Please... I ... Can't... Ho... L... D..."

His words died away, and were replaced with a gargling. Brenda started to cry and hug Shawns shaking body. Tommy pulled her aside. Griffen pulled put his pistol, cocked it, and fires one shot into Shawn's head. He went silent and cold.

Brenda didn't want to leave her husbands side. They had only been married for three years, both only 23 at the time. As she sat and mourned, she couldn't help notice a growling from  
up above her. She looked up to see two yellow eyes piercing hers. The eyes moved faster than she could see and then she was on the ground, screaming for help.

James turned around to see he flash of a figure jumping on Brenda. Skin and her internal organs flew to the side as the creature clawed at her unmercifully. All three men shot at it and it fell over sideways onto he floor beside Brenda's carcass. She spat out blood, inhaled once and became lifeless.

Griffen cursed and looked up to see more eyes looking at them, watching for movement. He slowly nudged Tommy and whispered to the pair.

"Run"

Then then were running, the eyes followed them for a few seconds before they jumped. Griffen glanced back to see five figures jumping off the Walls to catch them. They were growling madly, like wild animals.

The trio made it to the platform and didn't stop running when the got to the train, the mob from the station were hot on their heels. Griffen spun round swiftly and fired several bursts into one as it was lunging at him. It was blasted back onto the ground and lay lifeless.

James could see the exit, and that meant they were near a safe room. Then a thud made him turn round. Griffen had slipped. He was to close to the jumping infected to get up himself. He saw that Tommy had noticed and already killed one close to Griffen. James let of a long burst, followed by another one. They hit two jumping for Tommy, who turned round and gave him the thumbs up. James looked for the last one, only to realise that it was slumped near Griffen, with a bullet hole in it's head.

When Griffen was back up they headded for the end of the train. Outside was the midday sun, shining brightly on the Community Centre. The trio headed for the door and shut it. They were almost finished... Almost


	5. The Community Plaza Finale

eft 4 Dead 3 - Bloody Suburbia: 5 - Community Plazza Finale (COMPLETED)

Griffen, James and Tommy didn't stay long in the safe room. They grabbed ammo and left onto the plazza.

The plazza was brightly lit with search lights, you could tell it was a military checkpoint. I looked deserted however, as though it was abandoned. It had an uneasy feeling to it. A large metal gate stuck out in the scenery like a sore thumb.

Walking slowly, Griffen came up to a metal door at the other side of the plazza. It was large and steel, with several bolts and welds to make it completely full proof. He knocked on the door and spoke clearly.

" it's Lieutenant Scott Griffen, from Delta Squad in section C1."

Clangs and clicks sounded from the other side of the door, it opened and ten US Marines burst out. They created a covering squad while another man walked out behind them. He, like The General, had the insignia on his berret.

" Eventually, I'm General Michael Gribe. Where have you been, we've been waiting over two hours for you. " he barked at Griffen. " aren't thier supposed to be more of you?"  
" three of my squad are dead, these two men were our fire support. " Griffen turned around and smiled at James and Tommy. " and a fine job they've done. "

The New Manchester General turned to look at the pair. He seemed to be analysing them. He finaly seemed content and went straight into explaining the plan.

The evac plan was to use a siren, amplified by several speakers, to call for helicopter support. The sirens however, would attract the infected. The general's plan was to fend off the hordes until the evac choppers got here.

It took a few minutes to set up the defences. Griffen, Tommy and James were up above in a tower to the left. Griffen and Tommy mounted their M42 SAW and BAR respectably on the sand bags. James's job was to watch the ladder hatch for infected. Simple the general said, easier said than done.

As the amplifiers were being set up, Tommy almost decided to do a runner. He was way out of his depth now. Even if he had the evac, where would they go. Probobly to the army base to help their. It would be safer than out in the wilderness being hunted by crazy canibals. He gathered up his courage and cocked his gun.

James stared down the iron sight of his weapon at the hatch. He wasn't doing this for himself anymore. This was for his wife, she had died at the hands of these things. He had only been spurred on by the thought of how proud she would be if she was still here. He breathed in deeply and checked his magazine.

Griffen checked the mag of of his SAW. He was bubbling with rage and revenge. He wanted to see Clark, or Chelsea or Buffer again. They had died helping them get here. Tommy and James were good, they were prepared and ready to fight. He appreciataed them. When this was over, he was going to travel with them to the north. He reloaded his SAW and got ready.

The two soldiers who were manning the siren let it off and ran back to their bunker. The wail was deafening. The only thing that was audiable was the screams of infected. They swarmed from the station gate in masses. Instantly the machine guns went off. Bullet casings flew over ground. It was going well until the right wall colapsed. The same type of beast that killed Clark burst through the wall and swung at a bunker. The Marines defending were crushed with the weight of the rubble.

"Fire on the largest target" ordered Griffen.

The beast was rampaging through the plazza now, crushing anything that it came in contact with. Marines cried and screamed. The sight was something out of a movie, dead bodies lying all over the place, rubble from Walls and towers splintered inside soldiers and the remaining marines trying to fight off the threat.

In all the comotion, James had taken his aim off of the hatch and was more concerned with the Beast. He only turned around when he heard the muffled screams of the infected behind them. He checked his magazine, fourteen bullets left. He opened the hatch and fired blindly. The bullets wizzed and hit several infected. James then had an idea.

"Go down the hatch, give support at the front bunker. I don't think it's safe with that THING! "  
" What? " Tommy said, trying to grasp his plan.  
" He's right, that beheamoth will crush us if he gets near the tower. We've got to get to level ground, quick march gentlemen. " Explained Griffen.

Griffen and Tommy folded their stocks and climbed down the ladder. James stayed for a few secconds, and he was glad he did. Over the horizon, faint shapes were ploughing through the air. It was the evac helicopters. They were here.

James sighed with relief and jumped down the ladder. The trio stayed at the foot of the ladder to kill some infected. When the advanced into the open, the scene had changed from what it was a few seconds ago. The beast had rampaged the first two towers and was charging towards theirs. Griffen threw a contact grenade at it. A few seconds before the flames engulfed it, Tommy was sure he saw it smile.

The helicopters had got the signal and were now hanging overhead. They began to drop rope ladders and call up soldiers. The only problem was their were not soldiers left. They either lay in piles of other soldiers or infected, or they were injured. The General was one of these. He sontered over to the trio and spoke with a dying stutter.

" Take this... Please?" he then handed Tommy his general berret " get out of here ... We'll hold them off. "

The General picked up a Rifle off the ground and started firing again. More infected swarmed the plazza, hunting the remaining marines. As Griffen, Tommy and James got into the helicopter, they saw the General fend off the last few of his attackers. He turned and managed a wave to them. It was his last movement other than choking.

From the tower that the trio had come from, a tall, lanky figure emerged. It had smoke fuming from it's skin and a giant, mutated tounge. It spotted General Gribe and spat. It's tounge extended and like a bullet hit Gribe on the neck. It began to wrap around his neck, then body until he was completely trapped. The smokey figure then yanked back, pulling Gribe into a wall. He struggled for a few seconds then went silent. His body went limp.

Griffen had seen enough. He turned around and shouted to the chopper pilot;

" Get us out of here!"  
" Yes , sir!" the pilot replied, flicking some switches and taking off from the plazza. He then flicked another switch and spoke into a microphone.

" Hello gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. My name is Vincent and I'll be flying you today"

The chopper then juttered and took off. As they flew away from the plazza, they felt a massive wave of relief. Vincent turned around and started chatting away.

" So where you guys heading" he asked, he was African American with quite a positive but deep accent.  
" Were heading to the deep north where their isn't an infection. Well that's what I'm doing. " said Tommy

The other two nodded in agreement, clearly thinking the same thing. Vincent took a few minutes to consider this, then spoke.

" that sounds cool, can I join y'all, I can't stand all the flying anymore. It's kind of lonely after a while. " he asked, half joking, half pleading.  
" Yea, sure. We need the extra fire power. " Griffen answered, and the other two nodded in agreement.

Vincent was about to smile and respond, but something made him stop. He swiveled around and started flicking buttons. Griffen hadn't noticed, but the chopper seemed to be tilting to one side.

"What's wrong?" Griffen exclaimed.  
" I don't..." was all that Vincent could finish.

Then they were falling. Before he blacked out however, Griffen saw the same deformed tounge stuck to the the blade of the chopper, and the smoking figure standing a few metres away. Then he fell into darkness...


End file.
